Late That Morning
by Golem XIV
Summary: One-shot. There just isn't enough Richard/Garfield brotherly bonding out there, so I took it upon myself to write one. Comes with a generous helping of BBRae and RobStar.


"Where's Chrome Dome?" Beast Boy asked as soon as he entered the Ops room and saw it was occupied by only one person.

Robin turned his attention away from the channel-flicking he was indulging in and greeted the changeling with a quick grin. "He said he had something to do downtown and ran off as soon as we finished training." There was a subtle touch of amused irony in his voice. "He doesn't need to shower like we do."

Garfield grinned back and lowered himself on the couch with a small wince of pain, courtesy of muscles that were beginning to complain about the abuse they were submitted to less than half an hour ago. "Would that 'something' just happen to be a cute blonde that answers to the name of Sarah Simms?"

"The mysteries of the heart are endless," Robin stated with mocking gravity before he returned his attention back to the TV screen. Garfield's grin widened. He couldn't fathom the reason, but Cyborg still insisted in keeping the existence of his girlfriend a secret from the others, regardless of the fact that her identity and their relationship were common knowledge in the Titan community for quite a while.

The shapeshifter ran a hand though his still-wet hair and leaned back. The workout and the sparring they'd just gone through were demanding to the point of being exhausting, but the long, hot shower afterwards, the clean uniform on his body and the comfortable couch he sank into relaxed him. He felt the weight of a pleasant, weary afterglow in his limbs and closed his eyes, emitting a long, satisfied groan.

"Good training session," he mumbled almost to himself.

"You've improved," came the unexpected reply.

Garfield's eyes flew open. "Dude!" he blurted out incredulously. "Did you just say I was _good?_ "

"Nuh-huh. I said you have _improved,_ " his leader have him a lopsided grin. "Not really the same thing."

"Whatever, man!" the changeling's eyes shone. "Coming from you, that's a huge compliment!"

Robin frowned at him. "Gimme a break, I'm not _that_ bad!"

"Dude, I've seen drill sergeants and gym PTs with more compassion than you when it comes to workout!" Gar snorted.

Robin's frown deepened. "You're exaggerating. And I have to be strict because –"

"Yeah, yeah. I know!" Garfield smiled and waved away his justification. "I'm just sayin', you need to relax and smell the roses every now and then."

The leader of the Titans returned to his channel-surfing, but the frown remained on his face. Garfield sighed guiltily and eased back into the cushions. "Aw, c'mon, Dick, don't –"

"It does motivate you, doesn't it?" he was interrupted by Richard's voice. He glanced over and saw a self-satisfied smirk on his leader's face. "Yeah," Gar guffawed softly. He had him there. "Yeah, I guess it does."

"That's the reaction I'm going for," the Boy Wonder gave him a wicked smile. Gar chuckled and closed his eyes again, huddling deeper into the welcoming softness of the couch.

The warm sensation of tired fulfillment spread over him again, now fortified with the blissful glow of pride and satisfaction left by Robin's praise. He sighed happily; things just didn't get any better.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips. No, forget that last thought. Things could get _a lot_ more pleasant, if only –

"When are the girls coming back?" he asked without opening his eyes, still floating on a fluffy cloud of joy.

"Missing Rae already? They've only been out for a few hours!"

He frowned and squinted at Robin's teasing smile. "I'm not _missing_ her, dude! I'm just… I'm just wondering what's taking them so long."

Richard chuckled. "Riiight."

Gar folded his arms across his chest and his lower lip pouted. Richard laughed silently at the spectacle. "Come on, Gar. It's not like we can't see how the two of you've been clinging together ever since you've started dating."

Garfield's jaw jutted out in defiance. "We're not _clinging!_ We can both be perfectly fine by ourselves!"

"Suuuure. Name me one time you've been out of each other's sight for more than ten minutes in the last two weeks."

The changeling's mouth opened, worked soundlessly for a while, then closed. His frown deepened as his brain tried to recall everything that happened during the time period in question.

"When Rae meditates –"

"You're sitting right beside her, playing on your tablet or your GameDude, or reading a comic, or just chilling to some music," came the dismissive reply.

"Well, when I play with Cy –"

"She's also there, reading a book and sipping her tea."

Gar chewed the inside of his cheek in frustration as his mind groped for a solution. Suddenly his face cleared and a sly smile spread over it. An answer came to his mind. It wasn't exactly _true,_ but the Boy Blunder couldn't know that.

"Well, we do have to take showers, y'know! So there ya go!"

Richard turned his head and looked at Garfield while his eyebrow rose slowly and meaningfully up. The green youth's face paled. His bluff had been called.

"Stepping out of the shower to get a fresh bottle of Raven's shampoo doesn't take ten minutes, Gar!"

The paleness on Garfield's face was now replaced by a roaring blaze. "Dude! You've put cameras in the showers!"

"Nah," the leader of the Titans answered with a huge grin. "But you just confirmed something I was suspecting."

Garfield stared at him open-mouthed for several seconds. Anger, shame and even fear reflected in his eyes as he slowly understood what just happened.

"I walked right into that one," he groaned and facepalmed. He spread his fingers and glanced through them at Robin. "Dude, Rae's gonna _kill me_ if she finds out I couldn't keep my big mouth shut!"

"Only if you're lucky," Robin replied with amused coolness, quite indifferent to the apparent danger Garfield's body and soul were now in. "I'd say you'll wish for the sweet release of death long before she finishes with you. However…"

The changeling scowled. "However what?"

"I _could_ be persuaded not to mention it…" Robin's grin became mischievous.

A warning growl came out of the morpher's throat. "I don't like where this is going, man!"

"… _if_ you promise you'll do two extra hours of training a week," Robin concluded, undaunted.

"That's _blackmail,_ dude!" Beast Boy shouted angrily. "That's a felony!"

"As the villains always say, 'only if you get caught'. Do we have a deal?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Of course you do!" Richard exclaimed with exaggerated indulgence, then the corner of his mouth lifted in a very good rendition of a villain's evil smile. "I just wonder what the weather forecast is for the Pits of Hell these days."

Garfield's shoulders slumped in defeat and he looked down. "Well?" Richard demanded. "What'll it be?"

A definitely malicious grin split the green youth's face and he lifted his gaze back to their smug leader. "No."

"No?" Robin frowned in disbelief.

"No," Gar said firmly, his fang gleaming. "'cause while I'm being subjected to the most exquisite agony imaginable, I will find comfort in seeing you suffer even worse!"

Richard's frown deepened into a scowl. "I don't get it…" he began, then his eyes widened. Gar's grin grew even bigger.

"Yup. I'll tell Rae how you tricked me and trapped me into blurting it out. I'm pretty sure she'll be… _slightly upset_ with you."

Robin swallowed and ran his finger under the collar of his uniform. "Um… I see what you mean. How about we forget about all this?" he grinned sheepishly at the changeling.

Gar couldn't hold back any more. He giggled, he guffawed and finally they both exploded in laughter.

After a while their merriment calmed down to an occasional chuckle. "Now that's a deal I don't mind makin', dude!" Gar observed through the last wisps of his laughter. Again he tipped back and relaxed into the couch. Suddenly his brows came together and he fixed his leader in a serious gaze. All traces of his previous mirth were gone.

"You know she'd never really do anything like that, don't you?"

Startled, Robin turned his head to look at him. He waved Gar's seriousness away with a flick of his hand. "Of course not. Raven would never hurt anybody, least of all one of us."

Garfield leaned forward. There was a feral gleam in his eyes and his voice was soft but intense. "Right. She'd be angry and sulk, but she'd never hurt us. The only one that would end up hurt would be her."

Richards head cocked a little as he studied the changeling carefully. "I know that, Gar. There's no way I'm telling her anything. We were joking, you do realize that?"

The savage glow faded from Garfield's eyes. He shook his head as if to clear it. "Yeah, dude. I know. It's just…"

"Protective instincts?" his friend asked quietly.

The shapeshifter's gaze dropped to the floor. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess… Yeah."

Robin got up to walk over and sit beside Garfield, placing an arm around his friend's shoulder. "Gar, you know I'd never do something like that to her. Or to you, for that matter."

"Sometimes…" Garfield tried to squeeze the words through his throat, "Sometimes it's difficult to control myself."

Robin frowned. "Especially when it's about her, right?"

" _Only_ when it's about her. Dude, I know what you're thinking –"

Robin's hand squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm not, Gar. That time I was wrong, and not only for thinking you were attacking her, for not knowing you were in fact protecting her." Robin pulled his arm away and slumped, propping his elbows on his knees and looking down. "I was wrong for judging you too quickly and dismissing everything I learned about you."

Garfield shook his head. "Nah, you were right. I don't remember what happened to me, or what I did, but I do know I wasn't myself –"

"Gar!" he was cut off in mid-sentence. "That's a dumb thing to say. First, you _were_ yourself. You were protecting Rae!"

"But at that time we weren't –"

"Why does that matter? No, man. And besides, there's a second thing."

"Huh?"

"Think, Gar. It can happen to all of us. Remember when Rae snapped when we fought Dr. Light? Locking someone up if they lose control is not a solution. Even if it happens again, the best place to be is with your friends. With your _family_. With the ones that can restrain you and calm you without anyone getting hurt."

"Dude, I know, but…"

"No buts!" Robin was staring hard at him. "Dammit, Gar, don't you understand? If someone… if someone hurt Kory, so help me, I don't know…" He looked away, the muscles in his jaw bulging as the thought took hold of him.

He felt his friend's hand grip his arm. "Hey. Hey! _Hey!_ " Garfield spoke earnestly. "Cool down, man. We're both letting our imaginations run wild. Let's blow off some steam, OK? How about I kick your butt in _Ninja Fury XII?_ "

Robin felt his insides slowly unclench as the rush of rage left him. His lips spread out in a smile.

"In your dreams!"

-=oOo=-

"You _cheated!_ " Garfield shouted his gaming mantra, even though he was quite satisfied with his performance. He actually won the second round, and gave good battle to Richard in the decisive third bout. "That move was defitin – denifit – detifi – ARGH! It sure was not legit!"

"It's totally part of the game's mechanics and rules, and therefore it's not cheating! You're just being a sore loser!"

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

The main hallway door opened, interrupting their bickering before it could heat up.

"Friends!" Starfire's joyful voice greeted them. "We have returned from the mall of shopping!"

She flitted inside, both hands full of shopping bags of all sizes and colors. A much more subdued Raven followed her, gliding in with a single shopping bag dangling from her hand.

Starfire made a beeline for her boyfriend, enveloped him in a fierce hug while still holding all her newly-acquired possessions, and kissed him soundly on the lips. Robin reddened slightly. Even though Starfire never shrank from displaying her affection, she usually drew the line at passionate kissing while others were present. Not that it bothered her, but she knew it made him uncomfortable. She pulled back and giggled at his expression.

"I am most excited, dearest!" she explained. "It is the occasion of the momentousness! I have convinced friend Raven to purchase –"

"Starfire!" Raven's alarmed shout cut her off. "You promised!" The alien placed a hand over her mouth and giggled again.

"I offer you a thousand apologies, friend Raven!" she laughed. "It shall remain our secret."

Raven's hand covered her face in exasperation. At the mere mention of "secret", both boys' eyes went immediately to the innocuous-looking bag in her hand. She blushed slightly, floated closer to Garfield and touched his shoulder in greeting. He smiled up at her and covered her hand with his.

"So, what did you buy, Rae?" he asked with interest, knowing that she seldom indulged. A corner of her mouth went a tiny bit up and her eyes deepened.

"You'll see," she replied in that low, slightly hoarse voice of hers, creating shivers in his shoulders that quickly descended in a warm rush down his spine. He glanced again at the shopping bag and saw the small, discreet logo of the store. His eyes widened, then rose to meet her gaze.

Her expression hadn't changed at all, but suddenly an electric tension crackled between them. Raven's smile widened just a little. "I'll go leave this in my room," she said and turned to glide towards the side door.

Garfield gulped and forced himself to relax, willing the blood that rushed into his face and other parts of his body to return to its normal course. He glanced over at Robin, but their leader looked oblivious, paying full attention to his girlfriend as she unpacked and showed him one by one the many purchases she made.

Gar sighed in relief. Whatever it was that Raven bought, it sounded… _promising_. But he pushed it out of his mind for now. No sense running around with that stupid, expectant grin on his face.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him it was almost lunch time. He turned to Robin and cleared his throat.

"Yo, Rob? Since our cook is out, how 'bout ordering some pizzas for all of us?"

"I think we've earned them," Robin chuckled and went to the phone. Gar watched as he spoke quietly into it and as Starfire gathered her purchases back into the bags. As soon as Robin was finished she gave him a peck on the cheek and vanished through the door to take the stuff to her room.

Garfield relaxed once again into the soft embrace of the couch. The feeling of weariness was gone, now replaced by an equally pleasant anticipation. He drifted on it with his eyes closed for several minutes while Robin returned to his channel-zapping.

Soon enough a small beep came from the security console. Robin got up and walked over, his eyes quickly scanning the screen.

"The delivery drone just took off from the Pizza Palace," he commented while his hands played over the keyboard, taking additional readings. "The pizzas should be here in five minutes."

"Mmmm," Garfield grunted in satisfaction and rose from the couch, heading for the side door. "I'll go get the girls."

"Good idea," his leader chuckled. "Oh, and Gar?"

The changeling stopped and looked over his shoulder at Robin quizzically.

"I've taken the liberty of ordering one additional tofu-cheese veggie extravaganza," the Boy Wonder's lips curled in a knowing smirk. "I have a feeling you'll be needing the extra calories soon enough."

Garfield mumbled a few incoherent words and disappeared through the door, his face glowing bright enough to read by.


End file.
